This invention relates to a movable seat back that includes a movable armrest and an armrest movement restrictor. More specifically, this invention relates to pivotable seat back that includes a pivotable armrest having an armrest restrictor that retains the armrest in position relative to the seat back when the seat back is moved from an initial position.
Many vehicles include seats having one or more armrests for the comfort of a passenger. For example, a vehicular bench seat may include a center armrest for shared use by passengers on either side. Many of such armrests are able to be moved between a use position and a stowed position. Typically, an armrest may be moved between the two positions by pivoting it relative to the seat. Thus, the center armrest on the bench seat may be positioned in the use position, where it is available for use by two adjacent passengers, or it may be located in the stowed position, where the armrest is nested in a seat back so that a third passenger may occupy the center of the bench seat.
Many vehicles have cargo areas, such as trunks or beds, located behind the passenger seats. In some vehicles, the passenger seats may be moved in order to create a larger cargo floor in order to allow longer items to be transported within the vehicle. A seat back of rear passenger seats may be able to be moved from an upright position, where the seat is available to be occupied by the passenger, to a folded position, where a rear surface of the seat back provides a cargo pass-through or an extended cargo floor. The seat back in these types of seats may be moved by pivoting it relative to a seat bottom.
In some vehicles, both the armrest is movable and the seat back is movable. For example, the bench seat can include a center seat portion with a pivotable armrest, and the center portion may also be folded down to provide a pass-through to a trunk of the vehicle. When the center seat portion is moved from the folded position to the upright position, it is desirable that the armrest move up with the seat. However, the weight of the armrest will tend to keep the armrest in the use position, and the armrest may undesirably remain deployed as the seat back is moved upright relative to the armrest. It is known to overcome this difficulty by providing an interference fit between the armrest and the seat back, so that the weight of the armrest does not provide sufficient force to allow the armrest to fall away from the seat back. However, this increases the amount of force the passenger must apply in order to move the armrest from the stowed position. It is also known to provide a mechanical latch that retains the armrest in position relative to the seat back, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,444. When a passenger wishes to move the armrest from the stowed position, a release is used to disengage the latch. However, this requires that the passenger be able to reach and interact with the release. It would be advantageous to have an improved way to retain the armrest in position relative to the movable armrest.